"There is simply no excuse for violence between groups of people, whoever the perpetrators might be, whether they are of Asian, black or white origin.

"As a council we have been working and will continue to work with the various agencies in the town," he said.

'Racism not rife'

The Oldham area tops the list of racial incidents reported to Greater Manchester police.

Racial Incidents in Greater Manchester

Bolton: 207

Bury:147

Oldham: 452

Rochdale: 330

Salford: 111

S Manchester: 388

Stockport: 144

Tameside: 112

Trafford: 135

Wigan: 74

Its 452 incidents in 1999/2000 compare with 207 in Bolton, a larger town with a comparable ethnic population.

But Councillor Keith Pendlebury, who chairs Oldham's social development committee, denied the town was any more violent than neighbouring areas.

He said the figures needed to be put into context.

"The report of Greater Manchester Police, from which the figures are taken, does point out that Oldham has for a number of years had a system of reporting which is better developed than in the other boroughs.

"Oldham Council is not complacent about the situation, but we do argue that Oldham is not substantially different from other similar sized towns in the region where the racial and cultural mix of the population is comparable to ours," he said.